Socialist party leader and former Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha B. Satyanarayana Reddy died in a private hospital here on Saturday morning after brief illness. He was 86.
A bachelor, who dedicated his life for public service and served for long in the Janata Party, he was a staunch follower of Rammanohar Lohiya and Jayaprakash Narayan.
Hailing from Kalwakurthy in Mahabubnagar, Satyanarayana Reddy had taken part in Quit India movement in 1942 and had faced arrest. Reddy who began his political career as a member of Socialist Party later joined Janata Party, served as its State general secretary in 1977 and then joined Telugu Desam Party in 1983. He was arrested and sent to Musheerabad jail during the Emergency period. He had served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh between 1990 and 1993 and later as Odisha Governor.
A Telangana protagonist, Satyanarayana Reddy served as an inspiration for those in the Telangana movement.
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed their condoles. Mr. Narasimhan said Satyanarayana Reddy was a great freedom fighter and one of the most able and influential public servants of his generation. In his demise, the country lost an outstanding administrator.
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy visited the residence of late Satyanarayana Reddy here and paid tributes to the departed leader. TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu recalled the service rendered by Satyanarayana Reddy as Rajya Sabha member and Governor and expressed his heart-felt condolences to the members of the bereaved family. BJP leaders M.Venkaiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreya and State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy described Satyanarayana Reddy as an ideal politician and a strong socialist and nationalist fighting against repression of Nizams.
